T'hy'la
by Sephraim Annatau
Summary: There he was the most amazing, intelligent, sexy, and to die for man; but he was also the most insanely frustrating man ever! How will Jim Kirk deal with a crush on the one man who doesn't seem to acknowledge her, let alone like her? How will she be able to face her past? What does T'hy'la mean and why does Spock call her that? Slight AU and female Kirk. Kirk/Spock. No Spock/Uhura!
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:** There he was the most amazing, intelligent, sexy, and to die for man; but he was also the most insanely frustrating man ever! How will Jim Kirk deal with a crush on the one man who doesn't seem to acknowledge her, let alone like her? How will she be able to face her past? What does T'hy'la mean and why does Spock call her that? Slight AU and female Kirk. Kirk/Spock. No Spock/Uhura!

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 **A/N: Sorry about taking time away from _"New Beginnings"_ , but this story just would not stop haunting me demanding to be written! So here it is and I'm still writing _"New Beginnings"_ it will just take some time to update it again, especially around my school scheduled for this semester.**

 **Also what other pairings should I do? Who should be paired with an OC, what race should they be, what would you like to see for their background? If you have ideas send them as a review and depending on how many I get will dictate whether or not I let y'all chose what you want or if I just throw them into the story.**

 **And I will also be adding TOS episodes in as we go! And I already have one planned out on how to incorporate it, but you'll have to wait and see!**

 **Love y'all and thanks for the reviews (for those that send them),**

 **Seph**

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 **Chapter one…**

Many people ask me why I entered Starfleet. Truth be told, I entered on a dare, a dare from a man I greatly admired. Why? Cause I can never say no to a challenge. Now where to start… Oh, yeah. A bar… Like usual, well at least for me…

~0O0~

 **Stardate 2255, 2213 Hours…**

 _Where is he?!_ I internally screamed, _He was supposed to be here over an hour ago! Sheesh! Wait until mom hears about this. She's gonna be so, so mad at him._ A slight smirk stole over my features, _She's probably gonna make him sleep on the couch when she gets back._

I was waiting for my step-dad. Really it was step-dad number 2, but hey, he was awesome. And mom and I love him, even if he's late to a meeting he set up.

 _Ya gotta love Starfleet for the commitment it drags from its officers. Sheesh, come on dad, hurry it up already._

The bar was packed with the regulars and a bunch of Starfleet cadets waiting to ship out to Starfleet Academy. All the bright red uniforms made my head hurt from how glaringly _bright_ they were. Not to mention the couple of drinks I had too. But still, why pick a color that was painful to look at for long periods at a time. Although… I wonder how much pain medication they dole out to their professors each term, and how much they spend on it. I smirked at that thought.

 _Come on dad. Where are you?_

My internal dialogue gets cut off when a young woman comes up to the bar, where I was sitting waiting for my dad to show up, to order herself and a couple of friends a drink. She actually looked good in the red Starfleet cadet uniform.

"Hey," I called to her. "What's your name?"

"Uhura."

"Does that come with a first name?" I ask with a smirk, knowing I was baiting her.

"What's it matter to you?" She asked smirking right back.

"Just curious," I shrugged, smirk still in place. "Name's Kirk, Jim Kirk."

"Isn't Jim a boy's name?"

"And?"

"You're a girl."

"I wish I was a boy," I muttered quietly. "It'd be so much easier."

"Are you here alone or waiting for someone?"

"Waiting for my dad to get his buns in gear and show up."

Before Uhura could respond some random male cadet came over and started flirting with us.

"Dude," I said getting annoyed at him after a few too many pick-up lines. "Shut up and go away."

"Come on, cupcake. Ya know you want me," he said with what I like to call a flirtatious-smile-wanna-be. That's my term for a smile people use when they want to be flirtatious but end up with it being more like a creepy leer.

"What did you call me?" I ask getting more angry then annoyed now, as I never like it when guys hit on me cause I'm a girl and they're looking for a good night.

"Cupcake, cause you're sweet and looking oh so tasty," he said completely leering at me now. "Wanna go back to my room with me?"

"No, not interested. Go find someone else," I said turning back to the bar just knowing that dad would get angry at me for getting into another bar fight even though he'd agree that it was provoked… again. He still hates it when I get into fights.

"Now look here, Cupcake," the cadet said sneering at me. "If you're too prim for such actions why're you here? Waiting for another person to fu-"

He never got to finish his question as I cut it short with my fist in his face. The brawl was pretty much a guaranty at that point. His friends tried to hold me off of him while Uhura yelled at them to stop and that I'd "had enough". I never liked it when people assumed that I was a slut, or whispered it to each other. I wasn't, but that didn't matter to everybody else. My reputation in that department was actually my first step-father's action. He did it as revenge for me telling on what he'd been doing when I was younger. Now, everyone assumed I hopped beds for fun. Just because of one man. It was so not fair, but then again, when was life ever fair? Answer… Never.

The piercing whistle that echoed through the bar set my already pounding head into more pain.

"All of you, outside now."

My eyes refused to focus on the person who'd stopped the fight, who just happened to be, well, above my head as I was lying on my back on a table.

"You can whistle really loudly," I said still trying to focus on the person above me.

He tilted his head before asking, "Are you ok?"

"I just got the snot beaten out of me, so other than that, yeah, I'm doing great!"

"Really Jim, sarcasm?" He asked before gripping my arm. "Come on. Let's take care of that bloody nose before you bleed all over your clothes."

After helping me get slightly patched up we sat at one of the tables to "talk". Seriously I think that's just an excuse for the authority figures to give lectures on "proper behavior", you know, the "don't get into fights", "don't cuss up a blue streak", "don't do this", "don't do that", etc.

"You know, that tendency to leap before looking is something you got from your dad, and it's something I think Starfleet has lost."

"Yeah, and?"

"I looked at your aptitude scores. They're off the charts, Jim. I think you should enlist in Starfleet."

"Enlist in-" I laughed at that. Seriously, he didn't think that I should… Nah-ah… Not happening. "Come on, could you imagine me, in Starfleet. No that would not mix well, and you know it."

"Jim, if you're anything like your dad you'll excel in Starfleet. And… Starfleet needs you," He stood up before saying, "It usually takes four years to graduate from Starfleet Academy, and you can have a captaincy within seven years. Your father was a captain of a starship for twelve minutes. He saved 800 lives, including your mom's and yours. I dare you to do better. But you're an adult so it's your choice. Shuttle leaves at 0800 hours." He left with a smirk just knowing I'd be there.

~0O0~

 **The Next Morning, 0720 Hours…**

 _Dang him for knowing me so well! He_ knows _I can't turn down a dare!_ I had been pacing my bedroom floor for almost 30 minutes now trying my best to _not_ give into my urge to grab the keys to my motorcycle and head to the shipyard. An urge I'd been fighting for almost an hour. Finally I caved blaming him for knowing me _way_ to well.

I didn't grab anything from my room knowing I'd be back soon to grab whatever Starfleet didn't provide for my dorm room. I grabbed my keys, and headed out to my bike and headed to the shipyards hoping I would still be in time for takeoff, as it takes a little over half an hour to get there.

As I crested the hill to look down to the shipyard I saw that the shuttle had yet to take off. On my way towards the shuttle Someone commented on my bike being cool, so I tossed him the keys, cause why not? It's not like I'm going to use it in space. Walking up to the shuttle I saw him sitting in the door as if he was just waiting for me to show up.

"Four years to graduate? I'll do it in three," I said as passed him in the door.

Looking around for a seat I saw the cadet that was hitting n me the night before sporting some really nice bruises. As I passed him I had the urge to rub it in, just a little, and again, I caved.

"Looking good, cupcake," I said with a smirk. He just glared in response. I swear some people just don't have a sense of humor.

Two seats across from me I saw he cadet I had started a conversation with the night before.

"I still didn't get your first name, miss-oh-so-mysteri-oh-so," I said with another of my trademark smirks.

She just smiled at that.

I glanced to the back of the shuttle when I heard some auguring. I was confused. Why would someone want to sit in the bathroom for the entire flight? Eventually he sat in he seat next to me after telling the officer who had found him that he has "Aviophobia" which meant he had a "fear of flying". Who knew that was even a thing?

"I may throw up on you," he said turning to me.

"I think these things are pretty safe," I said not sure what to make of this guy.

"Don't pander to me kid. One tiny crack in the hull and our blood boils in thirteen seconds. A solar flare might crop up and cook us in our seats. And wait until you are sitting pretty with a case of Andorian Shingles. See if you're so relaxed when your eyeballs bleed. Space is disease and danger wrapped up in darkness and silence."

"Well I hate to break this to you, but Starfleet operates in space."

"Yeah, well I've got nowhere else to go. Ex-wife to the whole damn planet in the divorce. All I've got left are my bones," he replied taking a swig of what I guessed to be an alcoholic drink of some sort.

I just watched him not sure if I should laugh or not. After a moment he passed me his drink and I took a mouthful noting that it was some type of whisky.

"Jim Kirk."

"McCoy, Leonard McCoy."

~0O0~

Once we arrived at Starfleet Academy we were directed to the lobby of the main office building for Starfleet's professors which, in my opinion, was way too big for just the professors and other academy administrator's.

"Ok, Cadets!" someone yelled over the noise of the lobby. "If you have pre-registered go through the door to the left of the doors you came through. Those of you who did _not_ pre-register go through the doors to the right of the doors you came in through and follow the instructions given to you by the administrators there! Everyone got that?" He paused for a moment watching as we nodded, "Alright, Cadets dismissed!"

"Hey," Someone said to me.

"Hey what," I asked glancing over and seeing that it was that McCoy guy I met on the shuttle.

"Did you pre-register?"

"Nope," I said popping the "p". "Didn't even know I was joining 'til this morning."

He gave me a quizzical look. "What do you mean?"

I shrugged before saying, "I was dared to join Starfleet."

"You joined Starfleet on a dare," he stated as if it was incomprehensible that I joined Starfleet on a dare. Like, seriously, I'm fairly certain that I'm not the first to have joined Starfleet on a dare from someone.

"So," he said still slightly baffled by my previous statement. "I guess that means we're registering together?"

"I guess." I paused as we walked towards the doors for late registerees or whatever we're called.

"So, wanna be friends?" I asked with a smirk.

He just laughed before saying, "Sure, why not."

"Yes," I cheered with a fist pump. "First day and I already made a friend."

When we got into the room we saw tables with signs above them with the letters of the alphabet on them. Looking down I saw cadets lining up for the tables.

"Ok, cadets!" someone called out to us.

"Sheesh," I muttered to McCoy. "Do they think we're deaf or something?" He sniggered at my comment.

"Find the sign that has the first letter of your last name and get in line for that table!" The person I could only assume was the administrator for the room continued. "The people will ask you a bunch of questions, some personal, some not! Answer all of them! Understood?" He paused as if waiting for something. "Am I understood?" He demanded again. A chorus of "Yes sir" answered him. "Good! Cadets dismissed!"

"Well," I said spotting the sign with "J-L" on it. "I guess I'll see you later." I paused a moment. "What do you say about meeting each other for lunch at the cafeteria later?"

"Sounds good. So, yeah, see you later." McCoy said with a nod.

"See ya, Bones." I said with a smirk before slipping into the crowd hearing a startled "What?!" behind me as I headed toward the table so I could register.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here's another chapter! Thank you all who have faved and followed this story! I'm _SO_ glade you like it.**

 ** _Night-Chan-DragonEyes_ : I'm glad you find T'hy'la interesting, and of course I'll continue it, I have yet to get to the best part!**

 **PS: just do y'all know I will be touching on various parts of Jim's time in Starfleet before continuing with the first movie. This chapter will start to give you a glimpse into Jim's past, but you won't get the rest until later.**

 **Enjoy!-Seph**

 **Chapter two**

 **Stardate 2255, 1653 Hours…**

"Next!" one of the administrators at the table called, making the line of cadets shuffle a few more steps closer to freedom.

I was so exceedingly, insanely, absolutely, no doubt about it, painfully, excruciatingly, without a shadow of doubt, horribly, and dreadfully bored out of my mind. Now if I still haven't given you a clear picture of just how bored I was let me put it to you this way, I had been standing in line for _over_ four hours! I have nothing to do other than shuffle forward when someone was called forward to register. Seriously I think they do this just to punish us for not pre-registering! I actually counted and it takes somewhere around half an hour per cadet for them to register, there are only three people per table to take cadets for registering, and I still have seven cadets in front of me; which means I still have about two and a half hours left to go before my turn to register. McCoy and I also missed our lunch meet so we'll have to reschedule that for tomorrow if we even get _out_ of here today! This also means I'm not getting up there, let alone finishing, until after dinner. I am _so_ bored right now.

"Next!"

As I shuffled forward again my pocket started to vibrate. Sighing I pulled my phone out. And yes I still use an old fashioned cell phone rather than the more expensive communicators, but I did install a bit of newer tech that allowed me to connect to the communicators other people used. Glancing at the ID I saw that I received a text from my dad.

Opening it I groaned, it read: _**"I hope you're enjoying the registration process, and I hope to see you for dinner later. It'll be at my apartment and I'll have dinner waiting for you when you get here. Love you, Dad."**_ Below it he put his address so I could find his apartment. I could just hear his laughter knowing I was enduring absolute boredom!

I texted him back, _**"You are so cruel, but even if I don't get out of here by midnight I'll be crashing at your place tonight! And I'm gonna make you sleep on the couch for your horribleness!"**_

His response was faster than I thought he'd be, though knowing him he was probably expecting me to text him back quickly. _**"I'll be waiting for you, and you should know, you'll always be welcomed to crash at my place. And no, I'm not sleeping on the couch, and neither are you. I have an extra bedroom already set up for guests. And "horribleness" isn't a word. See you soon."**_

I snorted at his message. It was just like him to have an extra bedroom set up for guests. Looking up at the line again I sighed. This would be the death of me. As if predicting my thoughts I received another text from my dad. This time I felt like screaming in frustration as I could clearly hear his laughter though his text now. _**"Oh and I hope you're working on your patience right now. You have an excellent opportunity in front of you."**_

~0O0~

I wanted to scream from the frustration and boredom so badly when they finally called for the next in line, that was now me, that I missed it the first time. However, I did catch it the second time.

When I reached the administrator she peremptorily asked me the first question. "Full name."

"Jimima Tabitha Kirk," I responded.

"Date of birth."

"March 22, 2233."

"Location."

"USS. Kelvin."

"Do you or did you have anyone in you immediate family in Starfleet. If so who and what rank?"

"My Biological father George Kirk was in Starfleet and died with the rank acting Captain. Also can I count my, will be tomorrow, step-dad?"

"Will be tomorrow?" The administrator asked.

"Yes," I said trying to think of the best way to explain this. "Tomorrow my mother is marrying my step-father and he's in Starfleet. Does he count as immediate family?"

"Just a moment let me ask my supervisor."

I waited seven minutes for the supervisor to come over to our table so I could re-ask my question. When he finally came over I asked the same question once again, and he too had to ask his supervisor for advice. We went through five more people in almost an hour before we got an admiral who decided that since they were getting married before the semester "officially" started it would count for immediate family.

"Finally," I exclaimed after hearing that. "Ok, so my step-father is Captain Cristopher Pike."

"Pike?" the admiral asked surprised.

"Yeah," I couldn't figure out why he was so surprised by that. "So?"

"What's your name cadet?"

"Do I have to use my full name," I slightly whined at him. As he nodded I sighed. I hate my full name. "Jimima Tabitha Kirk." After another pause I added, "Sir."

"Kirk," he said looking slightly suspicious. "Are you related to a Lieutenant George Kirk, by any chance?"

"Yeah, he was my biological father. What about it?" I asked him now suspicious myself.

"Interesting," the admiral said before turning around and heading back to whatever he had been doing before.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Shall we continue?" the administrator asked me.

"Yeah, we should," I sighed turning around to face her.

"Ok, next question. What other family members do you have?"

"My mother, Winona Kirk, and my older brother, Samuel George Kirk. I don't know if any of my extended family are still alive as I've never had any interaction or what not with them."

"Ok. Education level?"

"High school from Riverside, Iowa."

"Any past experience that may cause trouble for you in Starfleet? Past trauma? Anything along those lines?"

My face instantly became a blank mask very similar to a Vulcan's at her question, and I could tell it made her incredibly uncomfortable seeing it on my face as well as at the speed I assumed it. I answered the rest of her questions with the mask still in place. By the time we were done the administrator was squirming in her chair looking very uncomfortable.

"Are you well?" I asked her.

"Eh, um… No. We're done. You can go," she said her voice trailing off at the end.

"You have my gratitude," I replied with a slight inclination of my head to her before turning on my heel and leaving.

~0O0~

When I finally made it to dad's apartment it was closer to 2100 hours. I was no longer hungry, just tired. After ringing the doorbell I waited for only a minute or so until dad opened the door for me.

"Jim, glad you made it before midnight," he said with a grin.

"Dad," I said as he moved out of the way so I could enter, Vulcan mask still in place.

As I stepped in he simply observed my expression before asking, "Past trauma?"

"Affirmative."

"Would you like to eat or just go straight to bed?"

"Bed is preferable. I can always eat in the morning."

"Ok. Down the hall and it's the first door on the left."

"I am gratified," I replied before heading to the guest room.

"Good night, Jim," I heard him whisper sounding incredibly sad before I entered my room for the night.

~0O0~

 **The Next Morning, 0300 Hours…**

I awoke with a start still hearing the screams that chased me even into consciousness. Dropping my head into my hands I fought the memories that still threaten to overwhelm me.

 _Dang you Starfleet! Why did they have to reopen those memories?_ Glancing at the clock on the nightstand I fought another wave of despair. _Why couldn't I have slept longer? Sheesh. Mom's gonna know something's wrong._ I sighed, flopping back down from my sitting position. _Can I get just one more hour of sleep? Please?_

After half an hour of not sleeping I decided that it was not worth it and got up to check my class schedule, dorm arrangements, as well as the map of campus and the surrounding area.

 _ **Class Schedule-Kirk, J. T.**_

 _ **First Block, 0700-0830-General Math**_

 _ **Second Block, 0900-1030-Federation History**_

 _ **Third Block, 1100-1230-Standard, Reading and Writing**_

 _ **Lunch Period, 1300-1330**_

 _ **Fourth Block, 1400-1530-General Science**_

 _ **Fifth Block, 1600-1730-Physical Education**_

 _ **Sixth Block, 1800-2130-Study Time**_

 _ **Lights Out, 2200 Hours**_

Looking over my classes I got confused. _Why are all my classes gen eds?!_ Shaking my head I decided to ask dad about that later.

 _ **Housing Arrangements-Kirk, J. T.**_

 _ **Dorm C-Room 207**_

 _ **Roommate- Uhura, Nyota-Freshman Cadet**_

Well, at least I now know the name of my roommate. _Hmm… Is she, perhaps, the cadet I met in the bar that refused to give me her name?_ I grinned at that thought. _Oh well, no matter, time to learn that map of the area._ Sighing, I set myself up for a long and boring time of memorizing the area around Starfleet Academy.

~0O0~

The sound of someone moving around behind me drew my attention, from the map I was still studying, to the clock on the wall. It read **0530**. Surprised I looked behind me to see dad blinking at me looking surprised that I was up already.

"Ah, morning, dad."

"Morning, Jim. Did you sleep well?"

I shrugged glancing back at the map in front of me.

"Nightmares?"

I just nodded, still not looking at dad.

"Jim," he said sitting down next to me. "What you went through would break most people. There's still going to be some lasting effects for, well, I'd assume the rest of your life."

"I just want to forget it."

"I know, Jim. I know," he sighed, before clapping me on the shoulder and getting up. "Come on, Jim, time for you to help me."

"With what," I asked quizzically.

"You have to help me forget my impending doom."

"Impending…" I stared at him not quite getting what he was referring to, until… "Oh you mean the wedding!"

"Of course," dad sounded like it was completely obvious so I should have realized it sooner. "Do I have any other impending dooms?"

I just shrugged, "I don't know."

"Come on, Jim. I need a distraction until the wedding."

"Ok," I glanced around trying to think of something with which to distract him with. "Hey, dad," I glanced at him with a smile.

"Yeah?"

"Wanna meet a friend I made yesterday?"

"Sure, why not," he said, shrugging.

"Great! We're planning on meeting for lunch so we can talk some more."

"Ok, I'll be ready."

~0O0~

 **1200 Hours…**

"Bones!" I yelled when I saw him. Dad and I were sitting at a table waiting for him to get here so we could get lunch and talk. I could feel dad giving me a weird look at my nickname for him.

"Hey, Jim," Bones said when he got to our table. "Why are you calling me "Bones"?"

"Uh… Cause you said that's all you have left so…" I trailed off.

Dad started laughing at that.

"Who's this," Bones asked.

"Cristopher Pike," dad said with a small smirk holding out a hand to shake.

"Leonard McCoy," Bones said shaking dad's hand.

"He's my dad," I said pointing to dad with my thumb.

"Not yet, Jim," dad said shaking his head. "I won't be your dad until later today."

"Oh Puh-lease," I shot back. "You've more or less been my dad since I was sixteen!"

"Not legally," he shot back. "And I'll be your step-father, not your adopted father or what not."

"Ugh," I said my head falling back. "You've been my dad more than any other dad I've ever had."

"Ok, yeah. That's true," he said after a moments pause.

"Wow," Bones said after listening to us. "Wait, other dad's. You've had more than one dad?"

I sighed knowing this would come up sooner rather than later. "Yeah, my biological father died the day I was born and my mom remarried when I was five. She later divorced him after my brother Sam ran away and I was sent away. That was when I was thirteen. Mom spent the next three years trying to find me but didn't until dad found me when I was sixteen. Now mom and dad are getting married, which makes Sam and I very happy." I finished with a smirk.

"Where were you sent?" Bones asked.

My slight flinch at his question didn't go unnoticed by him. "I'd rather not talk about it," I said fighting the memories that tried to surface.

"Ok."

"So," I started, changing the subject. "What classes do you have?"

As he told me his class schedule I was surprised.

"Wait, we have two classes together. Wanna study for them together?"

"Sure why not?" Bones said with a shrug. We continued to discuss our classes for a little longer.

"Hey, dad," I looked at him noting that he hadn't said much for a bit.

"Hey, yeah," he shot back knowing it would annoy me.

"Why are all our classes gen eds?"

"Gen what's?"

"General education classes."

"Oh," he said finally understanding me. "The first year is spent mostly in your general requirements so you can figure out what major you want to go into."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense," I looked at Bones. "Any idea what you want to study?"

"Medicine."

"Why do you want to be a med student?"

"Well I already have most of the basic knowledge for it, so why not?"

"You were a doctor before you joined Starfleet?" dad asked him.

"Not anymore, but, yeah, I use to be."

"Cool," I said. And it was. All I can say I did before joining Starfleet is get into regular bar fights.

We continued talking until dad and I had to go pick up mom and Sam from the shuttle pad. As we parted dad told me that he liked Bones. I had to agree with him on that point. I was fairly certain that Bones and I would be very good friends for a long time.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So sorry for the late update! I got stuck at the end of the chapter trying to wrap up what was there so my next chapter worked.**

 _Guest_ **: Yes I named her _Jimima_ as it easily shortens to Jim which fits her more tomboy "I wish I was a boy" mindset.** ** **Hope y'all enjoy! And don't forget to Review, as it does help me.****

 ** **Enjoy!- Seph****

* * *

 **Chapter three**

 **Stardate 2255, 1800 Hours…**

I can't tell you much about the wedding as I didn't pay attention to it. You may think that I'm a horrible person, but hear me out. All I wanted for my mom is for her to be happy, respected, and loved by the person she married. And to my great delight, she found that in the man she now was married to. I spent the entire wedding watching my mom, and her radiant smile made me so beyond happy that I only watched her and my new step-father. I basked in the joy and love they felt throughout the wedding, at least until dad spoke his vows and looked so nervous I wanted to laugh. But still Sam and I were beyond content with the way things worked out that we spent much of the wedding giving each other congratulatory looks, as we knew that mom and dad wouldn't have gotten together for another year or more without us having pushed them together.

The reception went like you'd expect any wedding reception to go. We laughed, told jokes, Sam and I gave speeches, mom and dad gave a speech, other people gave speeches, then we threw rice as they walked to the hover car so they could go back to dad's apartment for their wedding night, and then tomorrow they would go on their honeymoon, though only dad knew where that would be, as he insisted it was to be a surprise. An average wedding, at least it was in my opinion.

~0O0~

 **2130 Hours…**

Sighing I started the search for my dorm room. I was on the second floor but, as everyone who has been on a collage campus knows, it is always a pill to learn where your dorm room and class rooms are. After a while you learn their locations but the first week or so is always the hardest.

 _207, 207, 207._ I stopped in front of a door, _Ah. Here it is. I hope my roommate is still awake. I'd hate to wake her._ Sighing again, I raised my hand and knocked. Within a few moments the door opened to reveal the cadet I had met back in the bar in Iowa.

Smirking I asked, "Nyota Uhura I presume?"

She stopped and stared at me, "How do you know my name?"

I blinked at her. Didn't she read the room assignment? I voiced this question and she shook her head confused, so I showed her and enjoyed the look of understanding that flooded her face.

"Wait," her sudden interruption of my enjoyment made me blink. "Your name's Jimima?"

I groaned, "Please don't call me that."

"Why?" The impish grin that was starting to form on her face made my shoulders drop.

"I hate it," I muttered barely loud enough for her to hear.

"Why?" Uhura was now thoroughly confused, if I was reading her expression properly.

"Bad memories," was all I said as I watched her expression become even more confused. I glanced around the room searching for a topic change.

"I see you've unpacked," I said looking at her side of the dorm which didn't look bad for a freshman. Mostly she had posters of various alphabets on her wall. _She loves languages,_ I noted.

"Uh… Yeah," she watched me a bit longer. "I hope you don't mind that I chose my side already."

"Nope. Not at all."

She smiled at me, "Nice to hear that. I wasn't going to move even if it did."

I grinned at her, "I think we'll be great friends."

Uhura grinned back before saying, "You can call me Nyota."

"Ok… Nyota."

"So what do you plan on studying next year?"

We talked until the early hours of the morning, just getting to know one another. Nyota never asked about the reason I hated my name nor the "bad memories" I had said I had. I think she understood that it was a topic that I was unwilling to share at the moment. Finally we said good night and climbed into our beds. Yet, before I fell asleep, I prayed to any higher being that might exist, even the universe itself, that I would not relive the past again tonight.

~0O0~

 **Next Morning, 0530 Hours…**

It was the last day for the cadets to get everything for their classes before their classes started. It was also the day Nyota, Bones, and I would go shopping for our textbooks. Last night Nyota and I had learned that we had three of our classes together, and that one of them was also with Bones. So we planned on going together to get our textbooks and other materials for our classes this afternoon.

I glanced over to Nyota's bed and smiled at what I saw. She was slightly sprawled with one arm crooked over her face, the blankets half on the bed and twisted in her legs. She also had really good looking legs, if you were to ask me. But no, you didn't, so it doesn't matter.

I started getting dressed in the awful cadet's uniform, and it had to have a skirt, blech. I glanced back over to Nyota as she stirred.

"What's the time," She mumbled to me still not awake.

"0535 hours," I answered not even glancing at the clock.

She groaned and rolled back over putting her pillow over her head, as if to stop time from passing too quickly. I smiled as I realized that she defiantly wasn't a morning person.

As I headed out I decided to leave a note, so she wouldn't think I disappeared to who-knows-where, telling her I went out for a run and wouldn't be back until about 0700, and if she wanted to eat something before I got back that it would be fine.

While I was out running I decided to stop at the "Food Court", which really was only two places that Starfleet had set up so all cadets and professors could get a free meal on campus. One of the "restaurants" was an actual food place, but the other was only coffee and other drinks. As I was entering the building the "Food Court" was in, I very nearly ran into a professor.

"Sorry, sir," I said blinking at him. "I didn't see you there."

He simply inclined his head. "You should, then, be more aware of your surroundings, cadet."

"Ah, yes, sir. Sorry, sir," I said swallowing hard. I quickly opened the door and practically ran to the "Food Court". Seriously though, you can't call two small diners that share tables a "Food Court" that just doesn't work. But, that professor was kinda hot.

As I walked into the Food Court I spotted the one that had what I wanted. Skipping up to the counter I asked for a light salad, as anything else would cause issues with the run I was still half way through.

When I sat down I saw the same professor I had very nearly ran into ask for something from the same counter I had just been standing at. Sighing I worked on finishing my breakfast before continuing my run.

~0O0~

 **0702 Hours…**

"Jim!" The shout I received upon opening my dorm room door was incredibly loud.

"Seriously, Nyota," I winced rubbing my ears to clear the ringing. "I have really good hearing, so please don't yell so loudly."

"Sorry," she said sheepishly.

"It's ok," I sighed plopping down on my bed before flopping onto my back.

"You look like crap."

I started laughing at Nyota's sudden statement. "Yeah, I probably do."

"Go take a shower before we head out."

"Yeah, ok," I said pulling myself up to grab my stuff and take a shower.

As I started to go into our shared bathroom, Nyota yell to me, causing me to snort in amusement, "And don't take all year! You'll fail if you do!"

I was in and out of the shower in less than six minutes and dressed in two causing Nyota to stare at me as if unable to comprehend taking under ten minutes for a shower. When she voiced her obvious question I just shrugged. I'd been taking short showers for as long as I could remember.

"Jim," she said still seeming to struggle with how nonchalant I was being. "I'm lucky to be out of the shower in twenty minutes. How can you take such short showers and still be clean?!"

"Well," I began. "In the house I grew up in, we were lucky to have warm water for more than two minutes before it went back to being cold. You get use to taking quick showers so you end before your warm water runs out. And if you have multiple people taking showers back to back, you end up taking a cold shower so you still take a short shower so as not to turn into a Popsicle."

"How…?" Nyota started before fading off, unsure how to ask her question.

"How often did that happen?" At her nod I continued. "Pretty much every day," I shrugged. "My step-dad always took his shower first and hogged all the warm water then accused Sam and me of taking it all for ourselves. And before you ask," I said putting up a hand to stall her next question. "It was my first step-father not my current one."

"So is he…?"

"Is he what?"

"You know…The reason you hate your name?"

"Partly."

"Oh."

"Come on," I said forcing a smile. "If we don't leave we'll be late. We don't want Bones getting older than he already is."

We spent a good part of the day ensuring we had everything for our classes and spending time building our friendship with each other. Part way through the day all of us started to use our abbreviated nicknames. McCoy was Bones, Nyota was Ny, and I was Jim.

Just after dinner Ny and I headed back to our dorm to finish getting settled and ready for classes, as they started tomorrow and we wanted to be ready.

"Ugh," Ny groaned as she flopped onto her back on her bed. "I'm never doing that much walking in one day again."

I fought to hold back the laughter that I felt bubbling up inside at Ny's disgruntled attitude.

She glanced at me as I sat on my bed not looking like I had just spent almost all day on my feet.

"Ok, seriously, how do you still look like you have energy?"

I laughed at her question. "It's called walking and running a lot."

"How long have you been running in the mornings?"

My gaze went distant before I sighed, "Longer then you'd realize."

My gaze focused back on Ny. Seeing her confused and slightly worried expression I forced a smile back on my face. "Let's go to bed. We have a long day tomorrow."

"Ok."

"G'Night."

"Night."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry for the late update, this chapter froze in the middle thanks to writers block, but it's finished now. This chapter give some insight into what happened to Jim. It's kinda dark at the beginning but I'm still not giving to much away :P. Thank you all who have favorited and followed this story.**

 _Pri0Chan_ _1410_ **: I'm so glad you're enjoying this story!**

 _sherryfanfic1999_ **: I'm going to do my best to answer your questions without giving spoilers to everyone else, sound good to you? So here we go... Yes. Not going to answer that. Yes, and very good with connecting the dots (and yes to your parenthesized question). Yes. Remember the movies. Again, go back to the movies. You've already met him. She was born in 2233 so you can do the math and he's 3 years older just like in TOS. I hope that answers your questions.**

 _Shiranai Atsune_ **:** **She already has.**

 **I hope that answers everyone's questions and comments.**

 **Have a good Day**

 **-Seph**

* * *

 **Chapter Four**

 **Stardate 2257, 0126…**

Screams… Pain… I couldn't register anything else.

" _Jim! Jim!"_

It just overwhelmed me… I felt the fear, the pain once again. Fear and pain I hadn't felt in a long time.

" _Come on Jim! Wake up!"_

I knew it was just memories… phantom pains … A way for my subconscious to handle the memories of the trauma I had been forced to endure.

" _Jim, please wake up."_

I longed for the memories to end… To escape. But they always seem unending during the "Reliving" as I call it.

" _Captain Pike?"_

"Please," my mind desperately whispered. "I can't take much more."

" _Help's on the way, Jim. Just hang on."_

I silently screamed from the pain as it racked my body. Thrashing… Fighting the hands that held me down.

" _Jim!"_

I just want this to end… Just make it end… Someone… Anyone…

" _Jim!... It's ok, sweetheart. It's ok. I've got you. You're safe."_

"Dad," I mentally called for him as I registered his voice. "I can't hold on much longer."

" _Jim, sweetheart, I need you to wake up."_

"I'm trying!" I silently screamed at him.

" _Come on, sweetheart. I know you can… You are by far the bravest, most stubborn, and intelligent person I know. You can find your way out."_

Fighting the memories I started to fight my way out of the labyrinth my mind looked like to me. Searching… Seeking… Fighting to get out of the maze my thoughts and memories had become. Fighting to get those memories back into the itty-bitty corner I had pushed them to so I could survive… the corner they kept trying to escape from.

" _Come on, Jim. I know you can do it."_

With Dad's belief bolstering my strength I managed to push the memories back into their corner.

"Dad," I gasped as my eyes flew open.

"I'm here, Jim," he breathed out closing his eyes and hugging me close.

Wrapping my arms around him I fought to control my emotions and trembling.

"You ok now?"

I just nodded my head without moving it from my position. Glancing up to him I asked, "How did you know to be here?"

"You're roommate, Uhura, called me."

I glanced over to her bed to see her sitting on it and looking relieved.

"Thanks, Ny," I said smiling.

"Just don't scare me like that."

Nodding my head I looked down, "You have questions." I stated it as a fact rather than a question knowing it was the truth.

"What happened?"

"Nightmare."

"No, Jim. That was no nightmare."

Sighing I related _most_ of the story to her.

~0O0~

 **0649 Hours…**

"So, that's everything that happened?" Ny asked.

"Almost everything. There are somethings you won't understand."

"So is that why you joined Starfleet?"

"No. Dad dared me to join," I smirked.

"He…" Seeing her incredulous look I couldn't help laughing.

We had been in Starfleet for two and a half years now and Ny and I had become almost like sisters. She tells me all about her boy troubles and her absolute _favorite_ professor, who she thinks is like _the_ hottest guy ever. And seriously, that professor is like _the_ hardest professor in all of Starfleet. He needs to get laid or something and I told Ny as much about a week ago. She choked at my statement. I tell Ny about my "brother trouble" which she adamantly decrees is not "boy trouble". Seriously, unless I missed something he's still a boy!

"Anyways," I said getting up. "We should get ready for classes. They start in a little over an hour."

"Are you sure you can do this?"

"Ny," I sighed. "If Dad didn't think I could he would have said so. He's known me for eleven and a half years; you'd think he'd know whether or not I could do a day of classes!"

"It's not _just_ a day of classes! It's final review day, which means Finals start next week!"

"So what are you plans for the summer?" I asked changing the subject.

"But I'm not done discussing Finals yet," she pouted. "Are you even gonna study for them?"

"Ny," I said.

"Yeah?"

"In all the time we been in Starfleet have you ever seen me study for a test?"

"No," she stopped and looked at me. "Why is that?"

"I have a fantastic memory and I double check my notes as we go. So I don't need to study for the tests."

"Wha-? Ok that's not fair."

"Anyways," I said laughing. "What are your plans for this summer?"

"Work."

"Me too. I need to find a job first."

She smiled brightly at me, "You could come work with me. It's a tiny little fashion boutique a few blocks from the Academy, and everybody _loves_ it!"

"Ny," I whined. "You know I don't do fashion! My fashion is jeans and T-shirts… or the Starfleet uniform, which is a horrid color, by the way. "

"You could work in the back or at the register… or some other place in the boutique. I constantly bounce between jobs as we don't have enough employees there for the amount of customers we have coming through. Jim, please? We need the help."

"Ok, ok, ok," I said giving up trying to dissuade her. "I see if I can work there."

"Great, you can come in with me tomorrow and talk to the owner." Ny said smiling even more brightly, if that was possible. I swear her smile is like a Sunrise, it just gets brighter until it becomes so bright it blinds you!

~0O0~

 **Stardate 2257… 2217 Hours…**

"Ugh!" Ny groaned flopping on her bed. Final had officially ended two days ago and final grades just been posted for us lowly cadets to veiw.

"So how'd you do?" I asked her.

"85 through 89 percent's in all but one class and that one got a 91 percent. My highest grade was a 91, Jim!" Ny practically yelled at me partially sitting up in bed. "Do you know what that'll do to my dream of being assigned to the Enterprise?!" Ny was definitely yelling now. "Poof! Shattered! Gone! Dust in the wind!" Ny was gesturing with her hands in an attempt to get her point across, _but_ … I hate to be the one to break it to her, but she makes some very comical hand motions when she's trying to make a point and I mean _very_ comical. I fight so hard not to laugh at her, but it _really_ is hard.

When Ny finally calmed down she asked what I got. I really don't want to tell her knowing it will bring another explosion from her and my ears have suffered enough as it is.

She kept pestering me until I finally cave, "The lowest I got was a 97 percent. The rest were all 99's and higher."

"Ok, That's nice," Ny said after a moment. "Good night."

I waited, as she rolled over to go to sleep, for the explosion I knew would come when her mind fully processed what I just said.

"You got what?!" she exploded as she flipped over to face me again.

"Ny, did you forget that I have really good hearing and there are others trying to sleep here?"

"Right… Sorry," she responded sheepishly. "But seriously, Jim, you got an A+ in all your classes?!" she whispered shouted to me.

"And?" I asked quirking an eyebrow at her.

"Jim… You… How…" Ny couldn't even seem to form even half a sentence.

"Welp… Good Night," I said rolling over so my back was to Ny.

"Jim," She whined making my name sound like it was two syllables rather than the one syllable.

"Ny," I said partly rolling back over. "I need to find a job tomorrow, and I can't do that if I don't get any sleep."

"I don't know why you can't come work with me," Ny pouted.

"Because," I sighed. "Your boss and I agree it would not be a good match."

"Then where are you going to look?"

"I was thinking of checking with the _Drunken Gorn_."

"The… You want to work at a bar?!"

"I've done it before, Ny. Seriously," I said getting irritated. "Do you remember the bar we met in?"

"The one where you were waiting for your Dad?"

"Yes. That one. Did you know I worked there?"

"Then why were you drinking?"

"It was my day off. And anyways I have a really high alcohol tolerance."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning it's really, _really_ hard for me to get drunk."

"Have you ever been drunk?"

"Once, and never again," I shuddered.

"When?"

"I was fifteen I think."

"You were… Fine," Ny said giving up. "We'll talk about this tomorrow when we aren't so tired. Good Night."

"Night, Ny," I said with a smile, and for the first time, in what felt like forever, I didn't dream as I slept.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I'm so sorry it has taken me so long to post this chapter I got stuck on how I wanted to transition back to the movie. Now that I'm back to the movie script I will be posting more frequently.**

 **Thank you everyone who has stayed with this story; I really appreciate it!**

 **Have a great day!-Seph**

* * *

 **Chapter 5…**

 **Stardate 2258, 1020 Hours…**

"This session has been called to resolve a troubling matter," Admiral Barnett stated. "Jimima T. Kirk, step forward."

The moment he finished calling me forward I knew why.

"Cadet Kirk, evidence has been submitted to this counsel suggesting you violated the ethical code of conduct pursuant to Regulation One-Seven point three of the Starfleet Code. Is there anything you care to say before we begin, ma'am?"

"Yes, I believe I have the right to face my accuser directly," I phrased it almost like a question to test whether I was correct in my assumption of why I was called forward.

"Step forward, please," Admiral Barnett said as someone rose from the audience. "This is Commander Spock. He's one of our most distinguished graduates. He's programmed the Kobayashi Maru exam for the last four years. Commander?"

 _Oh, dang…_ my brain said realizing that the person who was speaking against me was none other than Ny's professor "boyfriend." _She is_ so _going to kill me._

"Cadet Kirk," the Commander said. "You somehow managed to install and activate a subroutine to the programming code, thereby changing the conditions of the test."

* * *

… _Flashback…_

 ** _Stardate 2258, 4 Months Before the Hearing, 2011 Hours…_**

 _The_ _Drunken Gorn_ was a hot spot for Starfleet Academy Cadets. Most of the Cadets came to get drunk but others came to boast, pick up somebody, or dish out dares only a few people were brave enough to accept. I tended to say away from the people who issued dares as I have an issue with not accepting them. I had been working at _The_ _Drunken Gorn_ for a little over a year now and I knew the regulars and the people to avoid. But… I guess no one remains lucky… And my luck just ran out…

"Hey Thomas!" one of the Dare-Disher's, as I call them, yelled across the bar. "What's the dare of the semester?"

To give a quick explanation, there are several dares given; there is the dare of the day, which as it sounds is a dare only good for the day; the dare of the week, which is a once a week dare; the dare of a month, I'm pretty sure you are smart enough to figure that one out from the previous listed dares; and the dare of the semester. Very rarely is the semester's dare completed as it typically breaks several rules and if caught whoever did the dare is expelled. Fun right?

"This semester's dare is to beat the Kobayashi Maru by changing the scenario," Thomas called back.

For a moment it seemed like the whole bar went dead silent before some other person asked the question, "I thought that had already been done before?"

"No," a senior cadet said shaking his head. "It's been issued before but no one has ever succeeded in changing anything in the scenario before."

"When was it first issued?" another person asked.

"Eight years ago," someone else answered. "The semester it was made by a brilliant grad-student."

"Brilliant grad-student," I snorted. I rarely ever called anyone brilliant as I've met some people others would call stupid, but were simple geniuses in a single field they had focused their schooling in.

"Ok, Kirk," Thomas said looking at me with a smirk. "I dare you to change the Kobayashi Maru."

 _Darn it!_ I yell in my head. _Why, stupid, why did you have to open your mouth? If you accept that dare Dad is going to so disappointed in you and Mom is going to be so mad you will never hear the end of it!_ Yet, even with my internal rant over opening my mouth the first time, I still found myself accepting the dare with a confidence everyone else didn't seem to have.

Later that night I decided to see what I had to work with in the test's program, but first I had to get through the security around the test.

"Oh wow," I murmured to myself. "It seems like the security around the test is better than the security around the database."

"What was that?" Ny asked groggily from her bed.

"Nothing important," I said glancing up at her briefly. "Just a project I'm working on."

"It can wait until tomorrow, right?"

"Fine," I sigh putting my PADD away. "Good night, Ny."

"Good night, Jim," cam the muffled reply.

 _Stardate 2258, 3.5 Months Before the Hearing, 1324 Hours…_

"Ah-ha!" my exclamation cut the previously quiet atmosphere of our dorm room causing Ny to look up at me in surprise.

"What?"

"Oh sorry," I said half distracted as I scrolled through the computer code now visible to me. "I finally started to get somewhere on one of my projects, that's all."

"Oh, ok," She said going back to her studies.

"Why would you…?" my muttering trailed off as I read the code. The guy who wrote this code was a genius—simply and absolutely a genius. "I have to meet this guy," I murmured.

"What?"

"Huh?" I asked not even looking away from my screen.

"You're talking to yourself again."

"Oh, sorry," I said still focused on the code.

When I didn't say anything else Ny just shook her head knowing I still wouldn't stop, as I had been mumbling and muttering to myself since before she had met me.

"What?" I asked glancing up at her, wondering why she was shaking her head.

"Nothing," Ny said going back to her studies. "Don't know why I try."

I rolled my eyes going back to the code before me. This was absolutely amazing! Whoever codded the Kobayashi Maru had written the code _in code_! That was the most brilliant security I had ever seen. One problem though, I have to decode the code before I can do anything with it.

"Huh, that's different," I said, slightly surprised when I reached the bottom.

Ny just sighed before she started to grab her stuff and put it in her bag, "I'm going to the library to study."

"Ok, have fun," I replied with a lazy wave as she walked out the door. "When was the last time someone checked the code? There has obviously been some tampering with it. Or…"

I got up to find a book dad had given me for my last birthday. It was on coding and was one of my absolute favorite gifts. "Now where did I put you?" I looked at my bookshelves, the tables, and my desk, before remembering… "Oh, nightstand," I chuckled sheepishly, "I'm an idiot." I walked back to my computer hoping it wouldn't take a lot of time to decode the Kobayashi Maru's code.

"Ok, let's start with decoding the tampered sections to see what other people tried doing…"

 ** _Stardate 2258, 1 Months Before the Hearing, 0757 Hours…_**

"This is driving me crazy!" My shout brought on a lot of shushing form those around me. I was in the Academy's library still trying to decrypt the code for the Kobayashi Maru. The places people had tampered with it had been easy to understand and had taken me only two weeks to sort out around my job and classes. From what I had seen at least nine people had tampered with the code with no success at all… but none of them were me, so…

However, the problem I was having was that the code the computer code was written in wasn't actually a known code it was a different language, and the Federation has about fifteen different languages spoken regularly, not to mention the different dialects of those languages, and the fifty gazillion other languages known from exploring and encountering new races who aren't members of the Federation. To put it bluntly, if you didn't know who had written the code you couldn't even begin to decrypt it, as you wouldn't have a point to start at!

"Ok, lets run through binary, octal, decimal, hexadecimal, and the others just to rule them out," I was now to the point I wasn't cracking the code because of the dare but simply to prove to myself that it wasn't impossible and that I hadn't met my match in whoever had written this absurdly ridiculous code.

"Ok, let's try converting it to an alphabet," I muttered to myself, hoping this was what I'd been missing. "Let's start with binary. 0011 0011-3, 0101 1000-X, 0101 0101-U, 0110 1010-j, 0110 0101-e… I don't think this is it," I said looking at what I had put down. '3XUje' meant nothing to me. It also made no sense from a coding perspective. "Next…"

 ** _Same Day, 1957 Hours…_**

I felt like I was getting nowhere. Nothing I had tried had turned up anything that made sense.

"Fine, hexadecimal is the last one to try," I muttered trying to ease the headache I had developed from all the frustration. "3-D, 34-i, 31-f, 45-t, 40-o, 43-r, 33-h, 30-e, 33-h, 44-s, 38-m, 48-u 44-s, 38-m, 26-a," I blinked at what I had just read. "Dif-tor heh smusma," I read out loud to myself.

"Dif-tor heh smusma?" Ny asked surprised. "Jim, that's Vulcan."

"Yeah I know."

"Do you need help translation it?"

"Nope," I said continuing the translation now that I knew what it was. "I'm good."

"Jim," Ny asked giving me a weird expression. "Since when have you know Vulcan?"

"Ah," I floundered looking everywhere but at her. "You know I'm suddenly really tired," I said faking a yawn. "I think I'll turn in now."

"You…" Ny started in disbelief. "You're avoiding the question," she accused. Since I had told her about my past I hadn't avoided her questions, just simply told her not to ask about something when I didn't want to answer a specific question on a topic I didn't want to think about, and she had never pushed knowing those topics were very painful for me.

"Good night, Ny," I said with finality.

"Fine," she huffed. "Night."

 ** _Stardate 2258, 2.5 Weeks Before the Hearing, 1837 Hours…_**

"Ugh," I groaned rubbing my eyes. "Starfleet really needs to fix this code." I had finished translating the code so I now completely understood how the Kobayashi Maru worked and I could change it however I wanted, but I didn't want to leave the gunk everyone else had tried to put into it. "I wish they'd just see what the others had done to it," I muttered. "Wait," I sat up straight suddenly getting and idea. "I'll write in a line letting the gunk everyone else wrote in to work. I'll just need to see how it works in application. That won't be that hard. All I need to have is a code set-up to monitor the test as it's taken. Ok, let's see," I said searching for an already written application that would monitor the test for me. "Uh, the best one requires me to take the test and have it with me. Oh, darn. I didn't actually want to take the Kobayashi Maru."

"Gah," I said leaning back in my chair. "Guess I'm taking the stupid simulator 'of fear'," I said sarcastically mimicking everyone who had taken it. "Like I actually need it," I muttered. "A simulator and real life are very different." I sighed dejectedly, "Ok, time to sign up for the test. Hopefully I only need to take it once to figure it out and once more to show the administrators the fact others have tried to tamper with it."

* * *

 _Current Day…_

It had taken two times to get the subroutine to work and a third time to "show it off".

"Your point being?" I asked with a smirk, just knowing it had to be irking him that I managed to do something he had thought was impossible.

"In academic vernacular, you cheated," Admiral Barnett interjected getting annoyed.

"Let me ask you something, I think we all know the answer to," I said getting into the real problem. "The test itself is a cheat, isn't it? You programmed it to be unwinnable."

"Your argument precludes the possibility of a no-win scenario," Spock said.

"I don't believe in no-win scenarios."

"Then, not only did you violate the rules, you also failed to understand the principle lesson."

"Please, enlighten me," I said dryly getting annoyed.

"You of all people should know, Cadet Kirk," Spock said in a slightly condescending manor. "A Captain cannot cheat death."

"I of all people," I repeated going very still.

"Your father, Lieutenant George Kirk, assumed command of his vessel before being killed in action, did he not?"

"I don't think you like the fact that I beat your test," I said with a cocky smile trying to hide how hard that jab had hit me.

"Furthermore, you have failed to divine the purpose of the test."

"Enlighten me again," I said my annoyance turning into anger.

"The purpose is to experience fear. Fear in the face of certain death. To accept that fear, and maintain control of oneself and one's crew," Spock explained haughtily. "This is a quality expected in every Starfleet captain.

"Excuse me, sir," an aide said coming up to Admiral Barnett before he handed something to the Admiral causing him to pale slightly from whatever he had read.

"We've received a distress call from Vulcan," Admiral Barnett announced causing Spock and I to stop our verbal sparring. "With our primary fleet engaged in the Laurentian system, I hereby order all cadets to report to Hangar One immediately. Dismissed."

"Who was that pointy-eared jerk?" I asked Bones as he came up next to me.

"I don't know, but I like him," Bones said.

"Traitor," I muttered as we headed to the shuttle bay.

* * *

 **A/N:I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Vulcan phrase...**

 **Dif-tor heh smusma** -Live long and prosper


End file.
